Chernobyl Nuclear Electric Plant Visit – (Fall 2010)

I visited the Chernobyl Nuclear Electric Plant and city of Prypiat in October 2010. It was 24 years after the explosion of the Reactor 4 and release of nuclear material which contaminated vast territory of Ukraine. Furthermore, the radioactive cloud was detected in most of the Europe. The aftermath of Chernobyl disaster was the final nail in the coffin of the Soviet Empire and caused its collapse. Today, independent Ukraine is forced to deal with the managing of this disaster for next decades.

I posted a short blog dedicated to the firefights (Chernobyl’s Hero Firefighter Memorial) who responded to the fires after the explosion in the reactor block number 4 in the Chernobyl Nuclear Electric Plant. In this blog, I will share some photos from Chernobyl today.

Reactor 4 and supporting structures from the distance

The explosion in reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Electric Plant happened on 26 April 1986 and process of dealing with radiation cleanup is still ongoing.

Reactor 4 and its sarcophagus

The Reactor 4 and its radioactive content is covered by the sarcophagus which protects the environment and allows the nuclear fuel to neutralize in next few centuries. The Ukrainian government is currently working on the new sarcophagus which will augment the current one.

Unfinished blocks in the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant

The entire Chernobyl Nuclear Electric Plant is currently non-operational and is in process of being decommissioned. The entire process will take few decades but reactor 4 sarcophagus will stay in place for centuries to come.

reactor 4 and the monument

Next to the reactor 4 sarcophagus is another memorial to the heroes who saved the world

Memorial not far away from the sarcophagus covering the reactor 4: “for the heroes who saved the world from the nuclear disaster!”